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G8 Leaders Statement on Global Food Security
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 8, 2008

G8 Leaders Statement on Global Food Security

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ G8 Summit 2008

1. We are deeply concerned that the steep rise in global food prices
coupled with availability problems in a number of developing countries is
threatening global food security. The negative impacts of this recent trend
could push millions more back into poverty, rolling back progress made
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We have taken
additional steps to assist those suffering from food insecurity or hunger,
and today renew our commitment to address this multifaceted and structural
crisis.

2. We are determined to take all possible measures in a coordinated manner,
and since January 2008 have committed, for short, medium and long-term
purposes, over US$ 10 billion to support food aid, nutrition interventions,
social protection activities and measures to increase agricultural output
in affected countries. In the short-term, we are addressing urgent needs of
the most vulnerable people. In this regard, we welcome the contributions
which others have made to address the global food crisis. We call on other
donors to participate along with us in making commitments, including
through the World Food Programme (WFP), to meet remaining immediate
humanitarian needs and to provide access to seeds and fertilizers for the
upcoming planting season. We will also look for opportunities to help build
up local agriculture by promoting local purchase of food aid. We underline
the importance of strengthening the effective, timely and needs-based
delivery of food assistance and increasing agricultural productivity.

3. Responding effectively to this crisis requires leadership, ambition and
an appropriate scale of resources. The international community needs a
fully coordinated response and a comprehensive strategy to tackle this
issue in an integrated fashion from short to medium and long-term. We
welcome in this regard the outcomes of relevant international fora
including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) High-Level Conference
on World Food Security in Rome and the Tokyo International Conference for
African Development (TICAD) IV in Yokohama. We commend the leadership of
the United Nations (UN) and Bretton Woods institutions in convening the
High Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to establish the
"Comprehensive Framework for Action", and urge the relevant stakeholders to
swiftly implement plans to achieve prompt delivery for countries in need.

4. To coordinate and implement this effectively, we will work with the
international community in forming a global partnership on agriculture and
food, involving all relevant actors, including developing country
governments, the private sector, civil society, donors, and international
institutions. This partnership, strengthening and building on existing UN
and other international institutions, could provide efficient and effective
support for country-led processes and institutions and for local
leadership, draw on the expertise in existing international organizations
and, in particular, ensure monitoring and assessment on progress. The UN
should facilitate and provide coordination. As part of this partnership, a
global network of high-level experts on food and agriculture would provide
science-based analysis, and highlight needs and future risks.

5. We are committed to thorough reform of the FAO to enhance its
effectiveness in helping to ensure food security for all. In this context,
we expect the next FAO extraordinary conference to provide effective
follow-up to the Rome Food Summit and outline concrete steps to enhance the
effectiveness of the FAO.

6. Food security also requires a robust world market and trade system for
food and agriculture. Rising food prices are adding inflationary pressures
and generating macroeconomic imbalances especially for some low-income
countries. In this regard, we will work toward the urgent and successful
conclusion of an ambitious, comprehensive and balanced Doha Round. It is
also imperative to remove export restrictions and expedite the current
negotiation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) aimed at introducing
stricter disciplines on these trade actions which prolong and aggravate the
situation, and hinder humanitarian purchases of food commodities.
Furthermore, we continue to promote the development of open and efficient
agricultural and food markets, and support monitoring of the functioning of
such markets by relevant agencies, with a view to minimizing the volatility
of food prices and preempting future crises. We also call for countries
with sufficient food stocks to make available a part of their surplus for
countries in need, in times of significantly increasing prices and in a way
not to distort trade. We will explore options on a coordinated approach on
stock management, including the pros and cons of building a 'virtual'
internationally coordinated reserve system for humanitarian purposes.

7. We fully recognize the need for a wide range of mid- to long-term
measures to tackle the issue of food security and poverty, inter alia, the
importance of stimulating world food production and increasing investment
in agriculture. To this end, we will:

(a) reverse the overall decline of aid and investment in the agricultural
sector, and to achieve significant increases in support of developing
country initiatives, including - in Africa - through full and effective
implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development
Programme (CAADP);

(b) support CAADP's goal of 6.2% annual growth in agricultural
productivity, and work toward the goal of doubling production of key food
staples in African countries meeting CAADP criteria in five to ten years in
a sustainable manner, with particular emphases on fostering smallholder
agriculture and inclusive rural growth;

(c) promote agricultural research and development, and the training of a
new generation of developing country scientists and experts focusing on the
dissemination of improved, locally adapted and sustainable farming
technologies, in particular via the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and through partnerships such as the
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA);

(d) support improvement of infrastructure, including irrigation,
transportation, supply chain, storage and distribution systems and quality
control;

(e) assist in the development of food security early warning systems;

(f) encourage the efforts of international financial institutions including
regional development banks and the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD); in this regard, we particularly welcome the World
Bank's recent announcement of a new US$ 1.2 billion rapid financing
facility to address immediate needs, and the work of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to address the needs of food-importing countries facing
balance of payments difficulties, including through the Poverty Reduction
and Growth Facility and the review of the Exogenous Shocks Facility;

(g) accelerate research and development and increase access to new
agricultural technologies to boost agricultural production; we will promote
science-based risk analysis including on the contribution of seed varieties
developed through biotechnology;

(h) support country-led development strategies in adapting to the impact of
climate change, combating desertification, and promoting conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity, while intensifying our efforts to
address climate change;

(i) ensure the compatibility of policies for the sustainable production and
use of biofuels with food security and accelerate development and
commercialization of sustainable second-generation biofuels from non-food
plant materials and inedible biomass; in this regard, we will work together
with other relevant stakeholders to develop science-based benchmarks and
indicators for biofuel production and use;

(j) promote good governance in developing countries with particular
emphasis on their food security and market policies; and

(k) mainstream food security objectives into the development policies of
donors and recipient countries, reaffirming our common commitment to the
principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

8. We have tasked a G8 Experts Group to monitor the implementation of our
commitments, and identify other ways in which the G8 can support the work
of the High Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis and work with other
interested parties for the next UN General Assembly to realize the global
partnership.

9. We also ask our ministers of agriculture to hold a meeting to contribute
to developing sound proposals on global food security.

10. We will review the progress on this issue at our next Summit.

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